Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "No Charge" for Tuesday, July 31, 2018
1 Timothy 2:3-4 - For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.In China's Sichuan province, in the city of Chengdu, there is a new restaurant named Jiamener.
Maybe it would be more accurate to say, "There was a new restaurant named Jiamener." You see, by the time you read this devotion, Jiamener will be closed. With your permission, let me tell you the story.
The tale begins in December of last year when Jiamener opened its doors for the first time. Wishing to be noticed in a city with a plethora of eating places, the owners of Jiamener felt they needed a promotion that would put them on the map. After a lot of late-night discussions, Jiamener's owners came up with a plan they felt did the job. The plan was all you can eat for $19 a month!
Now, does $19 a month sound like a deal to you? It did to me, too. And because it was a deal, the people of the community purchased a fair number of these $19 all-you-can-eat tickets. Jiamener's owners congratulated each other. To all appearances, things were going like gangbusters.
Who could argue with the success of the restaurant which was serving 500 customer a day and always had a line waiting to be served and had to extend its hours.
There was only one thing wrong with the picture, and that one thing was there was no picture on the promotion card. Without a picture of the client on the card, what happened was this: dad would use the card and eat before he went off to work. Then he would pass it to junior who had a good meal before he gave the card to mom, who would sometime during the course of the day, go over and enjoy a first-class meal with friends. Finally, in mid-afternoon, when sis came home, she used the same card to grab a bite.
And the program, which might have been successful at $19 a month per person, crashed and burned when that $19 ended up feeding four or more people. Two weeks into the program the restaurant shut down with the owners $80,000 in the hole.
Now I wondered, could the Lord's program of salvation ever go broke?
Is it possible for needy, sinful humans to become so sinful and needy that God's grace and mercy runs dry? Is it possible for His mission to redeem humankind from sin, the devil, and death go bankrupt?
Of course, the answer is no; these things are not possible.
The Lord who created the entire universe, has the ability to love the entire universe. It needs to be remembered that the Lord's salvation plan was, from the outset, designed to be shared with every person, everywhere. Jesus lived, suffered, died, and rose so that God's love for the world might also be able to save the world, that is, all whom were brought to faith by the Holy Spirit.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord. I give thanks that Your plans are better, more complete, more comprehensive, and far more effective than anything humankind can cobble together. For Jesus' blood-bought plan which saves, You have my everlasting praise. In the Savior's Name Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by Elle Nicholson in June 2018 for American Upbeat. Those who wish to reference that article may do so at the following link, which was fully functional at the time this devotion was written: http://americanupbeat.com/restaurant-closes-after-going-bankrupt-after-all-you-can-eat-promo
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Psalms 116-118; 1 Thessalonians 4
Psalms 116:1 I love that Adonai heard
my voice when I prayed;
2 because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death were all around me,
Sh’ol’s constrictions held me fast;
I was finding only distress and anguish.
4 But I called on the name of Adonai:
“Please, Adonai! Save me!”
5 Adonai is merciful and righteous;
yes, our God is compassionate.
6 Adonai preserves the thoughtless;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 My soul, return to your rest!
For Adonai has been generous toward you.
8 Yes, you have rescued me from death,
my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.
9 I will go on walking in the presence of Adonai
in the lands of the living.
10 I will keep on trusting even when I say,
“I am utterly miserable,”
11 even when, in my panic, I declare,
“Everything human is deceptive.”
12 How can I repay Adonai
for all his generous dealings with me?
13 I will raise the cup of salvation
and call on the name of Adonai.
14 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people.
15 From Adonai’s point of view,
the death of those faithful to him is costly.
16 Oh, Adonai! I am your slave;
I am your slave, the son of your slave-girl;
you have removed my fetters.
17 I will offer a sacrifice of thanks to you
and will call on the name of Adonai.
18 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courtyards of Adonai’s house,
there in your very heart, Yerushalayim.
Halleluyah!
117:1 Praise Adonai, all you nations!
Worship him, all you peoples!
2 For his grace has overcome us,
and Adonai’s truth continues forever.
Halleluyah!
118:1 Give thanks to Adonai; for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
2 Now let Isra’el say,
“His grace continues forever.”
3 Now let the house of Aharon say,
“His grace continues forever.”
4 Now let those who fear Adonai say,
“His grace continues forever.”
5 From my being hemmed in I called on Yah;
he answered and gave me more room.
6 With Adonai on my side, I fear nothing —
what can human beings do to me?
7 With Adonai on my side as my help,
I will look with triumph at those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in Adonai
than to trust in human beings;
9 better to take refuge in Adonai
than to put one’s trust in princes.
10 The nations all surrounded me;
in the name of Adonai I cut them down.
11 They surrounded me on every side
in the name of Adonai I cut them down.
12 They surrounded me like bees
but were extinguished [as quickly] as a fire in thorns;
in the name of Adonai I cut them down.
13 You pushed me hard to make me fall,
but Adonai helped me.
14 Yah is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
15 The sound of rejoicing and victory
is heard in the tents of the righteous:
“Adonai’s right hand struck powerfully!
16 Adonai’s right hand is raised in triumph!
Adonai’s right hand struck powerfully!”
17 I will not die; no, I will live
and proclaim the great deeds of Yah!
18 Yah disciplined me severely,
but did not hand me over to death.
19 Open the gates of righteousness for me;
I will enter them and thank Yah.
20 This is the gate of Adonai;
the righteous can enter it.
21 I am thanking you because you answered me;
you became my salvation.
22 The very rock that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone!
23 This has come from Adonai,
and in our eyes it is amazing.
24 This is the day Adonai has made,
a day for us to rejoice and be glad.
25 Please, Adonai! Save us!
Please, Adonai! Rescue us!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai.
We bless you from the house of Adonai.
27 Adonai is God, and he gives us light.
Join in the pilgrim festival with branches
all the way to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I thank you.
You are my God; I exalt you.
29 Give thanks to Adonai; for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 Therefore, brothers, just as you learned from us how you had to live in order to please God, and just as you are living this way now, we ask you — indeed, united with the Lord Yeshua, we urge you — to keep doing so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Yeshua. 3 What God wants is that you be holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you know how to manage his sexual impulses in a holy and honorable manner, 5 without giving in to lustful desires, like the pagans who don’t know God. 6 No one should wrong his brother in this matter or take advantage of him, because the Lord punishes all who do such things — as we have explained to you before at length. 7 For God did not call us to live an unclean life but a holy one. 8 Therefore, whoever rejects this teaching is rejecting not a man but God, indeed, the One who gives you the Ruach HaKodesh, which is his.
9 Concerning love for the brothers we do not need to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other; 10 and you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do it even more.
11 Also, make it your ambition to live quietly, to mind your own business and to earn your living by your own efforts — just as we told you. 12 Then your daily life will gain the respect of outsiders, and you will not be dependent on anyone.
13 Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people 14 do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died. 15 When we say this, we base it on the Lord’s own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; 17 then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord. 18 So encourage each other with these words. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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